Commending Ryan Zimmerman.
Sponsored bills
Probation, revocation, and suspension of sentence; penalty. Makes changes to the definition of a technical violation as it pertains to the revocation of suspension of sentence and probation and clarifies that a technical violation shall not include a violation of any specific or special term or condition imposed by the court in the original or any subsequent sentencing order and includes the consequences of a violation based solely upon a first technical violation and for a second or subsequent technical violation or any other violation, including a violation of any specific or special term or condition imposed by the court in the original or any subsequent sentencing order. Currently, there are limitations on the amount of active incarceration a court may impose for technical violations. The bill also provides that the court may fix the period of probation and the period of suspension for up to the statutory maximum period for which the defendant might originally have been sentenced to be imposed for any felony offense and up to five years for an offense punishable as a Class 1 or Class 2 misdemeanor. Currently, the limitation on periods of probation and periods of suspension is up to the statutory maximum period of imprisonment for any offense. The bill also adds the offense of crimes against nature committed on or after July 1, 2022, to the list of offenses for which if some period of the sentence for such offense is suspended, the judge is required to order that period of suspension be for the length of time equal to the statutory maximum period for which the defendant might originally have been sentenced to be imprisoned.
School security officers; scope of employment;carrying firearm in performance of duties. Provides that eachschool security officer, in addition to performing each enumeratedduty, is responsible for carrying out any other duty assigned to himby the local school board, excluding enforcement of discipline reservedsolely and exclusively to school administrators. The bill permitsa school security officer to carry a firearm in the performance ofhis duties if (i) within 10 years immediately prior to being hiredby the local school board or private or religious school, he was anactive duty member in the Armed Forces of the United States who servedon active duty for at least 10 years and received an honorable dischargefrom such service and (ii) he has provided proof of completion ofthe required training course.
Study; continuing the Joint Subcommittee toStudy Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform; report. Continuesthe Joint Subcommittee to Study Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform,through the 2022 interim.
Girl Scout Week. Designates the week ofMarch 12, in 2022 and in each succeeding year, as Girl Scout Weekin Virginia.
Selling, giving, or distributing fentanyl; penalties. Provides that any person who sells, gives, or distributes a substance he knows or should know contains two milligrams or more of any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, including its isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts of isomers to another person without such persons' knowledge that the substance sold, given, or distributed contains fentanyl, then he is guilty of attempted murder of the second degree. The bill also provides that if such sale, gift, or distribution results in the death of the other person from his use of the substance containing fentanyl, then the person who sold, gave, or distributed the substance is guilty of murder of the second degree. The bill also makes it a felony punishable by not less than five nor more than 40 years, three years of which are a mandatory minimum, and a fine not to exceed $1 million for a person to transport into the Commonwealth by any means with intent to sell or distribute 100 milligrams or more of fentanyl.
Firearms; removal from persons posing substantialrisk; penalties. Repeals the procedure by which any attorney for the Commonwealth or law-enforcement officer may apply to a generaldistrict court, circuit court, or juvenile and domestic relationsdistrict court judge or magistrate for an emergency substantial riskorder to prohibit a person who poses a substantial risk of injuryto himself or others from purchasing, possessing, or transportinga firearm. The bill also removes the substantial risk order registryfor the entry of orders issued.
Earned sentence credits; possession of childpornography. Excludes a first offense for the crime of possessionof child pornography from the crimes that will eligible for enhancedsentencing credits effective July 1, 2022.
Absentee voting; deadline for returning absenteeballot. Requires that an absentee ballot be received before the closing of the polls on election day in order to be counted. Currently,an absentee ballot that is received after the closing of the pollsbut before noon on the third day after the election is counted ifit is postmarked on or before the date of the election.
Absentee voting in person; available beginningon the fourteenth day prior to election; hours of operation. Limits absentee voting in person to the two weeks immediately precedingan election. During these two weeks, the bill requires that absenteevoting in person be available Monday through Saturday, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day.